Where's Willy? In Wales, of course!
The Prince of Wales heads to Wrexham and the Palace quashes silly rumours
After William’s no-show at his beloved godfather King Constantine’s memorial service, citing a “personal matter”, social media went into conspiracy theory meltdown - already fuelled by the ‘Where’s Kate?’ brigade. Although come St David’s Day, William kicked the rumours away with a back-of-the-net visit to Wrexham AFC, the oldest football club in Wales, followed by other engagements celebrating Welsh culture in the city.
The Prince of Wales’s first stop was the Turf Pub where he pulled pints with the footie club co-owner Rob McElhenney, before heading into the stadium. Whether William was gutted that co-owner and Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds was not in town, we’ll never know. We sure would be. The prince then visited a primary school before paying his respects at Gresford Mining Disaster Memorial, commemorating 266 miners who were killed 90 years ago.
The day before, William was at London’s Western Marble Arch Synagogue discussing the alarming rise in antisemitism and meeting 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Renee Salt. These well-received public engagements were in sharp contrast to the feverish headlines earlier in the week reacting to his last-minute absence at his godfather’s service of thanksgiving.
To be fair, an eleventh-hour cancellation by any royal is highly unusual and a gift to social media conspiracy theorists. The prince was scheduled to give a reading and was named as such in the Order of Service. The Tuesday event at Windsor’s St George’s Chapel was the biggest ‘family’ gathering of royalty since Charles’s Coronation, with 23 British and 37 European royals attending. Constantine II, the former and last king of Greece, died aged 82 in January 2023. He was a close friend and second cousin of King Charles, who was also absent due to his cancer treatment.
Palace aides were quick to point out that William’s absence was nothing to do with Catherine, who was “doing well” but did not elaborate on the prince’s “personal matter”. We’re not surprised William was not more forthcoming. He fiercely guards his and his family’s privacy.
So, in a week, when the hottest topic on the internet was bizarre and bonkers speculation on Catherine’s whereabouts and health must have been vexing. So much so that Kensington Palace issued a statement for all those who were not paying attention the first time round when it was clearly indicated that she’d be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”. A spokesperson for the Princess of Wales said: “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.”
Tragedy hits the family
The Royal Family was rocked by the sudden passing of Tom Kingston, husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, on February 25. Thomas, 45, died suddenly at home in the Cotswolds and an inquest has been opened. He was married to Lady Gabriella Windsor, daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and was a committed Christian who conducted diplomatic missions in Iraq, before working in finance.
“It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother. Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him,” the family said. Buckingham Palace issued a statement: “The King and The Queen … join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family. Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.”
Camilla keeps calm and carries on
It was another super busy week for our super trooper Queen Camilla. From leading the royal family at King Constantine’s memorial service, hosting a star-studded reception for BBC’s 500 Words competition finalists to meeting Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s First Lady, Her Majesty carried on with her trademark cheerfulness.
Although officially classed as a family occasion, Tuesday’s memorial service saw Camilla leading the congregation alongside King Constantine’s widow, Queen Anne-Marie. Camilla later hosted a private reception for all the royal guests at Windsor Castle.
On Wednesday, our book-loving Queen was celebrating young writers with a Buckingham Palace reception for the 50 finalists of 500 Words, the UK’s celebrated children’s competition. Camilla has supported it since 2015 and been an honorary judge since 2018. The contest encourages children to write a fictional story using 500 words or fewer. With A-list stars attending, such as actors Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans and judges including Frank Cottrell Boyce and Malorie Blackman, the six winners were announced at the reception, but we’ll have to wait until Thursday (World Book Day) to find out.
Many royals have been vocal about their support for Ukraine, and this continued Thursday morning. Just days after the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Camilla welcomed First Lady Olena Zelenska to Clarence House. During the 30-minute meeting Olena thanked her for Charles’ statement of support last week.
Camilla is now taking a week-long break from official duties for a bit of downtime with Charles and her family, according to The Sunday Times royal editor. The Queen will resume duties on March 11 when she will head up the royal family at Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
Corgis for your Queen Mum
Next Sunday 10 March is Mother’s Day in the UK, so why not give the significant female/mother figure in your life one of these cute royal corgis. Made from 100% recycled material, each one is £25, buy yours here.
Harry’s High Court setback
He’s had some success in his court battles, but Prince Harry’s latest legal challenge ended in defeat, when he lost his case against the British government on Wednesday, leaving him with a £1million legal bill, according to The Telegraph.
After Prince Harry left the Royal Family and moved to California, his automatic police protection was withdrawn and the Duke of Sussex was challenging this decision-making process. However, the judge ruled it was not unlawful or “unfair”. He will appeal the decision, his legal team said, adding, “The duke is not asking for preferential treatment.”
Mon Dior, The Royal List goes to Paris!
Finally, a bit of fashion news. This week, The Royal List’s Kerry had the very exciting assignment to attend the Dior Autumn/Winter Collection at Paris Fashion Week, for The Sunday Telegraph. Dior has, of course, long had royal connections, dressing everyone from Princess Margaret to Queen Camilla, Princess Grace of Monaco to Princess Diana and Prince Harry and Meghan. Diana was so devoted to Dior bags, they named the Lady Dior after her.
Since 1947, Dior’s mission has been to make women look as beautiful as possible and Christian Dior’s timeless “silhouette a la Parisienne,” is thus reinvented every season, with a core look of white shirts, black skirts and tailored jackets.
This season’s show was paying homage to 1960s Dior - when Marc Bohan was creative director – and the first ready-to-wear Miss Dior collection was launched. Think beaded dresses, mini skirt suits and jackets graffitied with the original Miss Dior logo, plus flowing A-line gowns. The whole experience was like a beautiful dream. Models walked to the soundtrack J’taime and Kerry couldn’t have agreed more.
